Prime Minister Mercelina again addresses GEBE billing concerns

GREAT BAY--Prime Minister Luc Mercelina has acknowledged growing concerns from residents and businesses about missing and delayed GEBE invoices and has outlined the steps government is taking as shareholder to push for improvement and stronger regulation of utility tariffs.

The Prime Minister was responding to a question posed to him during the Council of Ministers Press Briefing on Wednesday of  reports that some households and companies, including businesses with dozens of accounts, have been requesting outstanding bills from GEBE for up to two or three years and still have not received complete or accurate invoicing. These situations make it difficult for consumers to verify charges or plan for payment.

Prime Minister Mercelina confirmed that he is aware of the complaints and that they were also raised in a recent closed-door meeting with GEBE’s Supervisory Board with Parliament on Monday. In that meeting, the Supervisory Board indicated that GEBE’s billing accuracy had reached a high level, as high as 97%. This claim was refuited y a ember of the media who claimed that concrete examples that contradict that claim can be provided to the PM and the Prime Minister has committed to bring those cases back to the Supervisory Board for clarification and correction.

The Prime Minister stressed that government’s formal role as shareholder runs through the corporate governance structure. The Council of Ministers communicates with the Supervisory Board, which in turn must hold the management of GEBE accountable for operational performance. He noted that this indirect line of communication can be frustrating, but emphasized that government will continue to use every available tool to apply pressure and insist on better service to consumers.

He reiterated that the current situation with billing and failure to address this at GEBE is one of the reasons he has requested the resignation of the Supervisory Board. According to the Prime Minister, the board has resisted key recommendations, including tariff relief based on independent analysis, and has been slow in strengthening the management structure, even though a general manager and a financial manager are now in place. He stated that there should be no excuses for failing to execute what is needed in such a critical company.

On the regulatory side, the Prime Minister provided an update on government’s work to create an independent regulator for utility tariffs. A draft national ordinance has been prepared to designate the Bureau Telecommunications and Post (BTP) as the legal authority to regulate electricity and other utility tariffs. This draft is currently with the Department of Legal Affairs.

Once Legal Affairs provides its final feedback, the draft will be handled by the Council of Ministers, then sent to the Council of Advice, and finally submitted to Parliament for debate and approval. The Prime Minister expressed the hope that, if the legislative process proceeds as planned, the legal framework establishing BTP as utility regulator can take effect in the beginning of the second quarter of 2026.

The Prime Minister recalled that an earlier study by BTP concluded that there was room to lower electricity tariffs, but without a formal regulator in place government could not compel GEBE to adjust its prices. With BTP as the legally mandated regulator, an independent authority would be able to set maximum tariffs based on objective analysis and require GEBE to comply.

Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Traffic and Telecommunications (TEATT) Grisha Heyliger-Marten, whose portfolio includes consumer affairs, confirmed that the Ministry is working on a legal framework for consumer protection and on regulation of utilities. These draft regulations are also being refined with Legal Affairs. The intention is to provide consumers with clearer rights and recourse in situations such as prolonged missing bills and to strengthen oversight tools over utility providers.

Until those frameworks are fully in place, Prime Minister Mercelina stated that government will continue to bring concrete complaints about billing and service to GEBE’s Supervisory Board, insist on corrective action, and keep the public informed of progress. Government, he said, remains focused on protecting the people of St. Maarten, improving service delivery, and putting in place permanent structures that can prevent similar situations from recurring in the future.

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